Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients:

•	Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
•
FILLING
•	1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
•	2 tablespoons sugar
•	1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•	1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
•	1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•
TOAST
•	1 (1 lb.) loaf French bread
•	4 large eggs, beaten
•	1 cup half-and-half
•	1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
•	1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
•
GLAZE
•	1 cup Smucker's® Apricot Preserves
•	1/2 cup orange juice
•	1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

1	HEAT oven to 225°F. Spray griddle with no-stick cooking spray.
2	BLEND together filling ingredients in small bowl until light and fluffy. Set aside.
3	CUT bread into 12 slices, approximately 1 1/2 inch thick. Cut a small slice along the top of each piece, creating a pocket in the middle. Fill with a heaping tablespoon of filling.
4	MIX together the eggs, half-and-half, vanilla and nutmeg. Dip bread in egg mixture and cook on prepared griddle until both sides are golden brown, being careful to keep filling in bread pocket. Place cooked slices on baking sheet and place in oven to keep warm.
5	HEAT preserves in small saucepan until melted. Stir in orange juice and almond extract. To serve, drizzle over French toast.